Beijing, Aug. 26: China on Tuesday said it is willing to work with India to strengthen mutual understanding, address differences and overcome obstacles, as the two countries held the 25th meeting of the Special Representatives on the China-India Boundary Question in Beijing.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi described India and China as important neighbours and major developing countries and emerging economies, while calling for a stable and healthy relationship between the two countries.
The meeting was attended by India’s National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval and Wang Yi, who is China’s Special Representative on the boundary question. The two held what the Chinese Foreign Ministry described as comprehensive, in-depth, friendly and candid discussions on the boundary issue and broader bilateral relations.
Wang said China was prepared to approach its relationship with India from a strategic and long-term perspective, with the objective of strengthening communication, increasing understanding and managing differences.
“China is willing to work with India to grasp bilateral relations from a strategic and long-term perspective, strengthen communication, enhance understanding, eliminate differences, overcome obstacles, and be good-neighbourly and friendly friends and mutually beneficial partners,” Wang said, according to China’s Foreign Ministry.
He also spoke of achieving what he described as “harmonious coexistence between the dragon and the elephant”, referring to China and India.
According to Beijing, Wang argued that healthy and stable China-India relations serve the fundamental interests of the people of both countries. He also said the relationship has significance beyond the bilateral sphere, particularly for developing countries and the wider Global South.
Wang referred to meetings between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Kazan in October 2024 and Tianjin in August 2025, saying that the understandings reached by the two leaders had provided direction for improving and developing bilateral relations.
The latest meeting comes amid efforts by New Delhi and Beijing to stabilise ties after a prolonged period of tensions, particularly along the Line of Actual Control.
Doval, for his part, emphasised the importance of building a stable, predictable and forward-looking relationship between India and China.
According to the Chinese Foreign Ministry’s account of the meeting, Doval said such a relationship would serve the common interests of the two countries’ populations and have wider significance for Asia and the international community.
He also noted that, under the guidance of the leadership of both countries, India-China relations had returned to the “right track”, with overall peace maintained in the border areas and exchanges and cooperation in different fields progressing steadily.
The boundary question remained a central component of the discussions.
The two sides held detailed discussions on advancing negotiations concerning border demarcation, strengthening border management and control, improving existing mechanisms and promoting cross-border cooperation.
Both countries agreed to continue addressing the boundary issue through dialogue and consultation and to jointly maintain peace and tranquillity along the border.
The discussions indicate that despite differences over the unresolved boundary question, both sides continue to rely on diplomatic and institutional mechanisms to manage the dispute and prevent tensions from undermining the wider relationship.
An important outcome of the meeting was the decision to hold the 26th meeting of the Special Representatives on the China-India Boundary Question in India in 2027.
The Special Representatives mechanism has remained one of the principal high-level channels through which New Delhi and Beijing discuss the boundary dispute.
The latest round therefore combines two parallel objectives: continuing negotiations over the boundary question and maintaining stability along the border while broader bilateral engagement develops.
The discussions also extended beyond the bilateral relationship, with the two sides exchanging views on international and regional issues of common concern.
For Beijing, the emphasis on being “good neighbours” reflects an effort to frame India-China relations within a broader strategic and economic context. Both countries are major economies in Asia and influential members of the Global South, making their relationship relevant to regional stability and international affairs.
For New Delhi, however, stability along the border remains an important prerequisite for sustainable improvement in bilateral relations. Doval’s emphasis on a predictable and forward-looking relationship underscores India’s interest in ensuring that progress in other areas is accompanied by continued peace and tranquillity along the frontier.
The agreement to convene another round of Special Representatives Talks in India next year suggests that dialogue on the boundary question will continue.
While the latest meeting does not resolve the longstanding territorial dispute, the commitment to further negotiations and maintaining border peace provides a diplomatic framework for managing differences.
The developments also point to a cautious effort by India and China to consolidate recent improvements in bilateral ties while continuing to address the most sensitive issue between them.
The next round of talks in 2027 will provide another opportunity for the two sides to assess progress on border negotiations and explore ways to strengthen mechanisms for maintaining stability along the frontier.
